The Catcher in the Rye
by J. D. Salinger
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Book Reviews of The Catcher in the Rye
Book Review: Holden fails to impress but Salinger fails to disappoint...
Summary: 3 Stars
The Catcher in the Rye has been a controversial book from its very beginning, banned in numerous school districts all over the country. J. D. Salinger depicts the life of Holden, a young boy disillusioned with his life who holds the belief that he must be the "catcher in the rye," a savior of innocent children.
Although it has been praised and well received by the younger generation who feel that Holden is a character they can relate to, I found the novel rather boring. Holden might be lost and confused, but it does nothing to soften the annoyance felt at his immaturity and the absurdity of his thoughts. The situation with Holden's brother Allie does elicit some sympathy toward his mental condition and even his immaturity. However, his frequent childish notions to pay for a prostitute and to call up an old friend merely to engage him in a sexual conversation make his actions less forgiving. Even though most teenagers from various eras have found connection to Holden, I personally find Holden's thoughts too extreme and too incomprehensible for me to relate at all.
Nonetheless, Salinger's characters are developed extremely well. Even after reading the whole novel, there is still much more to the characters than Salinger chose to reveal. In addition, the characters are all fairly realistic and fairly likable, especially Mr. Antolini. Mr. Antolini is one of Holden's old teachers and the one that Holden looks up to. Clever and sympathetic, Antolini, like other teachers like Mr. Spencer, tries to reach out to Holden. This, however, makes Holden's story all the more frustrating. He has so many people in his life who are willing to help and guide him, yet he refuses to listen and insists on acting like a grown up child.
It is also undeniably true that The Catcher in the Rye is masterfully written. Full of symbols and images, Salinger succeeds in conveying the traumatized nature of Holden's mind. The vivid descriptions Salinger employs in his narration aid in envisioning the situation and engaging the reader in the story.
Salinger frequently uses italics to emphasis certain words that Holden places an emphasis on. The italics are usually indications of the deep cynicism that Holden harbors for anything and everything in the world around him. J. D. Salinger narrates in the voice of Holden using short, choppy sentences and utilizing to the fullest extent the technique of fragments. Through such syntactical structure, Salinger creates a fast pacing that reflects upon the frantic and haphazard stream of thoughts that characterizes Holden's through process.
Although Holden fails to exert the same pull on me as it does on other teenagers, it is irrefutable that J. D. Salinger is a master of his art. A reader looking for a easy and lighthearted read will find The Catcher in the Rye a tedious and pointless read. However, those disenchanted with the society around them may find it easier to relate to the young Holden and thus, enjoy the book.
Book Review: To: the Holden Caulfield's of the world
Summary: 5 Stars
The Catcher in the Rye is perhaps Salinger's most famous and misconstrued work. It is often simplified to a 'hitting the wall-of-reality' story or (even worse) a 'coming-of-age' story. While these themes are sandwiched in between layers and layers of other thematic elements and symbols, they alone (or even between the two of them) cannot encompass the entirety of this novel.
In my personal opinion, one cannot understand a piece by Salinger without having read his other works as well. I would recommend readers to first start out with Franny and Zooey then Nine Stories, The Catcher in the Rye, and lastly, Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters & Seymour: an Introduction. This sequence is a good way to acclimate to Salinger's language (indeed, his writing is much like a different language).
The Catcher in the Rye is the story of a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. The encompassing theme of the novel is wrapped up in his name. Holden is a phonological spin off of 'hold on.' This may seem like I am pulling magic out of my sleeves; however, I do not think it is a bogus claim. In "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" (the first story in Nine Stories), the eldest son of Salinger's Glass family is named Seymour Glass because he 'sees more' in the world. See more = Seymour.
Why do we need to 'hold on?' We need to hold on because no matter how much we criticize the people and things around us for being the nuts and bolts of a degradingly superficial system, we ourselves are still a part of that system whether we like it or not. We can despise other people for being actors on a stage (reference to Shakespeare's As You Like It). They have their masks and costumes on. The stage is lit. The audience is begging for a spectacular show, and the players are ready to give one. We may think that we are the only few individuals who are backstage witnessing the entire show from afar. Unfortunately, the theatre is the world, and as long as you are in it, you are on stage whether you like it or not. Holden is the individual backstage. All the other 'phonies' are dolling themselves up to impress the audience. Yet, he himself is aware of the fact that he is also a part of the production, and this is what causes his depression and suicidal tendencies. He needs to hold on.
What are we holding to? We are holding onto the fact that despite the system and its major flaws, there are still fantastically rare moments of beauty and bewilderment that still exist. Phoebe going round and round on the carrousel, Jane Gallagher, the ducks at the lagoon, the museum, Allie--all these are Salinger's symbols for beauty and innocence which defy the laws of this system called Life.
Near the beginning of the novel, Holden describes a good author as someone who you would want to be friends with after having read his works. I would love to be best friends with J.D. Salinger.
Book Review: I first encountered Holden Caulfield in a high school . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
I first encountered Holden Caulfield in a high school English class. My teacher allowed me to read Salinger's novel, which she kept in a locked bookcase. What is even more surprising than the fact that my teacher was a Catholic nun, was her encouragement to read The Catcher in the Rye at a time when other U.S. high school teachers were being fired or forced to resign for assigning the book. Much like Holden Caulfield, I was a brooding adolescent at the time, and after finishing the novel, I told my teacher I could relate. From hindsight, I should have thanked her for sparking my lifelong passion in reading books, and for teaching me to question all forms of censorship.
Salinger's 1951 novel has the distinction of being the most frequently censored book in U.S. history, which is perhaps reason enough to read it. Using the first-person narrative, it tells the simple story of sixteen-year-old Holden's experiences in New York City following his expulsion from an elite college preparatory school, Pencey Prep. He finds himself at odds with the "phoniness" of world. "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book," Salinger reportedly stated in a 1953 interview. "It was a great relief telling people about it." Holden Caulfield has become synonymous with teenage rebellion and defiance, and as a result, Catcher in the Rye has become an adolescent cult classic.
"If you really want to hear about it," Holden begins his story, "the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." Catcher then chronicles two days in the life of Holden Caulfield following his expulsion from Pencey Prep. He decides to return to his family's home to secretly visit his younger sister, Phoebe, one last time before leaving New York City and traveling west. We learn that Holden is haunted by the death of his younger brother, Allie, who died of leukemia when Holden was thirteen. Phoebe packs her suitcase, determined to leave with Holden. He refuses, she cries and then refuses to speak. They silently walk together to the zoo, where Phoebe starts talking to Holden again, but only after he promises to abandon his plans to run away. Holden then buys Phoebe a carousel ticket, and just watching his sister ride the carousel infuses Holden's life with new meaning (along with the desire to protect her) and tears of bittersweet happiness. Yes, there is liberal dose of teenage profanity, smoking, drinking and sexuality in Catcher in the Rye, but underneath the novel's coarse narrative lies an adolescent heart of gold. Highly recommended.
G. Merritt
Book Review: The Loss of Innocence in a Literary Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Holden Caulfield is one of those uniquely legitimate characters in literature that is so like myself it is almost scary. Was Salinger a perpetual teenager, or was he just remarkably insightful? I do not know the answers to these questions and I never will, but this fact does not bother me. I can find all I need to know about Salinger in his hauntingly autobiographical novel The Catcher in the Rye. His colloquial speech is incredibly relaxing to read. Who said literature always had to be so stiff? He, like James Dean, is often considered to epitomize the true "rebel without a cause." However, with a closer look, it is possible to understand why this young man is as angry as he is.
Holden is like most other teenagers in that he cannot make up his mind. Probably the most dualistic character in all of American literature, he has widely varied opinions on the same subject- this would seem impossible, but Holden (or should I say Salinger?) accomplishes it both realistically and intriguingly. What is most fascinating about Holden is his obsession with innocence, and the protection of childhood. He provokes a fight with his roommate at Pencey because the boy goes on a date with a girl from Holden's childhood- symbolically protecting her innocence. He has a preoccupation with the ducks in Central Park. He continuously asks people if they know where the ducks go during the winter, representing his fixation for all things simple.
The introduction of his younger sister Phoebe brings one of literature's most brilliant characters to light. Salinger managed to create someone who is very clever for her age but is so young that it is not impossible to smile at some of the things she says. It is highly understandable as to why Holden loves his sister so much. In fact, this relationship is what endeared Holden to me. His sensitivity towards his younger sister (when most older brothers antagonize their younger siblings) erases many opinions of him as cynical and rebellious. This is not to say that he is not rebellious-he is- but he is so much more than that.
At the crux of the story lies a deeply confused teenager, one who has lost his younger brother and is enduring a midlife crisis at much too young an age. His mind constantly pulls his thoughts in different directions, and it is no wonder that Holden seems stretched too thin. His symbolic desire to be "the catcher in the rye", or the person who helps children retain their innocence, draws the reader to the conclusion that Holden is not merely a teenage rebel. He's truly lost in a world that he views as cruel and without the innocence he wishes it had. This book is the story of the loss of innocence of a kid who only ever wanted to keep it, and that is something all generations can identify with.
Book Review: Where's The 1 Stars
I cannot fathom why anyone became famous, or wealthy, for writing this material... "The Catcher In The Rye" is one long, rambling, goofy, repetitive in the *extreme* diatribe...presented as an ode to Borderline Personality Disorder. It's like page after page after page...of absolutely nothing. And at the end of it all, there is no pay off. There is no conclusion to the story. Don't hope for one; it is not there.Holden Caulfield gets kicked out of school (again), but he doesn't do anything amazing with his time, except wander around for a weekend. He gets drunk, but he never really has much fun doing it. He picks up with a prostitute, but he gets no action. His creepy room mate dates his childhood friend, but nothing whatsoever comes of that either. His teacher cops a feel on him in the middle of the night, but the one he gets is really pretty silly to read about. He gets slapped around some, but never gets the stuffing knocked out of him, nor any sense knocked in. He gets sick toward the end, but he's not suffering from anything major. And after 200 pages of terror over what his parents will think, you never actually hear what they have to say. All the reader knows is, Holden's intelligence is upstaged by a 10 year old. Worst of all, after all of this whining & carrying on... Holden doesn't come to any important new realizations about life, himself, or anyone else.
The realization I came to on the final page, is that just because a piece of writing is referred to as "a classic", that does not mean it is particularly well written, or profoundly meaningful. J.D. Salinger wrote a relatively small collection of fiction, "The Catcher In The Rye" was his most "outstanding" writing, it was the hallmark of his life's work, it became famous for some vague reason, & yet... It says nothing. I don't know how it inspired 3 infamous stalker-killers to carry it around with them, when they went off to do their deeds... Personally, I would be embarrassed to have this book found on me at the scene of a crime. I'd probably lie, & say it was the victim's...
So I researched this book & its author online, hoping to find some redeeming quality, some critically important point, or theme I must have missed. My first realization was the possibility that perhaps Holden Caulfield didn't accrue any hard won life wisdom on his 3 day lost weekend, because the author himself didn't live his life any wiser, in regards to the people around him. I also discovered that the book's primary cultural value is "a liturgy to teenage angst". But there are far better ones out there... If you're looking for this in literature, "Ask Alice" is much more significant work, & it gets far more accomplished as a piece of writing.